Following Tuesday’s practice ASU players and coaches from the offense spoke about 10-7 the victory over Michigan State, the reshuffled offensive line, the opening game of Pac-12 play that looms against Colorado and more. Here’s a look into what was said by true freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels, offensive line coach Dave Christensen and junior starting wide receiver Frank Darby.

Daniels uses legs, arm and mental composure to lead struggling offense on the game-winning drive

As the score shows, Saturday’s victory was an ugly one if you’re a typical football fan who loves offense. The Sun Devils were grinding away and trying to preserve a 3-0 lead until the Spartans put up the game’s first touchdown with 8:37 to play. Even the television announcers commented on how that score probably sealed ASU’s fate based on the lack of production all game from their offense.

As silly as that claim made them look, it was hard to think otherwise at the time. Through the first 56-plus minutes of the game, the Sun Devils had only put up 141 yards of total offense before stringing together an 11-play, 75-yard drive to take the lead in the game’s final minute, ultimately proving to win the game.

“I felt like we just went back to some of our basic plays,” Darby commented, “some of the basic plays that we’ve been running the whole camp, in springtime, it was like we knew what we were supposed to do in that situation.”

For those who didn’t read Saturday's game story, or simply forgot, Daniels nearly single-handedly led the Sun Devils on the game-winning score, rushing for 27 yards plus hitting senior receiver Brandon Aiyuk on a 40-yard deep ball all in that drive.

“There was one (deep ball) I had missed him earlier in the game,” Daniels said. “But that one was kind of underthrown, but he made a good play to stop his momentum, catch the ball, give us the momentum and give us a first down on a big play.”

Then of course, no offensive play was bigger than this one for the Sun Devils, which kept them alive and well with a chance to win the game late.

“Yeah, some of it,” Daniels answered to a question about whether the play was designed to send the receivers deep to clear out space for him to run. “If the throw was there, then throw it, but some other times it just goes back to instincts, know down and distance and go out and make a play.”

Daniels offers much more than just his talent and abilities though, as players and coaches alike have noted the even-keel mental composure that he displays throughout games regardless of the situation. Darby noted the contrast between the true freshman and his predecessor, now Green Bay Packers quarterback Manny Wilkins.

“He’s always calm for some reason,” Darby said. “Manny last year, Manny would come in he would yell at us, ‘ah, ah,’ and get all riled up, and we’d be like ‘all right cool bro,’ like ‘calm down,’ like ‘don’t panic bro,’ he’d be like ‘nah man, you got to do this, do this.’

“Jayden comes out there saying ‘you ready to go, let’s go get this, let’s go get this Frank, all right, I’m cool, I’m cool, we got this, we got this fellas,’” Darby added as he fist-bumped imaginary teammates to paint a vivid picture, “he’s just like focused all the time, you know, and he never panics…that’s just how Jayden was the whole game, like he was cool.”

Naturally, Daniels was asked about this again, as he already has been numerous times throughout the season. He credited his parents for raising him to be that way, never getting too high or too low, and added some insight into how coach Herm Edwards also helps him be that way.

“Me and him both stay calm, so you got to stay calm just talking,” Daniels said. “He’s always saying that you’ll be alright, next drive, next series, that’s the game of football, there’s going to be ups and there’s going to be downs, and then just the last drive he was like ‘well go win the game now,’ I told him ‘I got you coach.’”

Sun Devils shuffle offensive line one more time, hope this can be the starting five for the rest of the season

On Monday, Edwards said that he hoped Saturday’s starting five on the offensive line could be the group that they roll with for the remainder of the season, barring injury, stressing the importance that continuity has on the effectiveness of that position group.

In case you missed it, the new look starting five still has seniors Alex Losoya at left guard and Steve Miller at right tackle, but switches senior Cohl Cabral back to center- the position where he excelled in 2018- while moving true freshman Dohnovan West to right guard and adding true freshman Ladarius Henderson at left tackle.

Given the circumstances of these changes and the position group’s lack of depth, Christensen thought things went well on Saturday, after saying they needed to get better following the week two victory against Sacramento State.

“I thought it went well,” Christensen said. “We had a certain game plan that we put in place that we thought would give us a chance to win this football game, and things all went according to plan, and the defense played extremely well. We didn’t turn the ball over and we scored more points than them and the plan all came together.”

As odd of a situation as it is to start two true freshmen at offensive line, he added that what ASU’s doing isn’t too outside the norm based on the depth they are working with. Although the team does have another experienced player in 6’6’’, 325-lbs. redshirt senior Roy Hemsley, Christensen stayed tight-lipped on the decision not to play him, simply saying “we play who we feel will give us the best chance to win, we do that at every position.”

But going all the way back to Camp T, now over a month ago, Christensen did say something along the lines of he needs to see his players practice at a certain level before he’s comfortable putting them in a game, and finding the starting lineup is about finding players who can consistently compete at a championship level. It would seem that’s the best explanation we’ll get on Hemsley’s situation, while redshirt freshman Jarrett Bell appears to not be fully recovered from the injury he sustained in week two.

Shifting to the guys who did play, Christensen spoke very highly of both guys, first explaining how fortunate they feel to have landed a guy like Henderson with what he brings to the team.

“We thought without a doubt that he was going to be a left tackle for us,” Christensen said. “He’s got good technique for a young player, he’ll continue to master that, but just had a lot of intangibles that you look for in an offensive lineman, particularly a left tackle, and we’re shocked we were able to recruit him. He’s a young man that I’d have taken anywhere I’ve ever coached, and for us to go to Texas and get him was certainly a big get for us.

“He had natural bend, natural athleticism, natural movement, so those things you can see on film. And then it’s like anything else, you get him here and you hope they’re what you think they are, and over time you find out, and he’s just done a tremendous job throughout training camp and practice of showing all the things we thought we saw, and he’s got them.”

He added that Henderson and West did a nice job for them on Saturday, and also talked about how much West has continued to impress him over these first three games.

“He played really well,” Christensen said, “he played at probably a higher level than I’ve had any young player ever play.

“He’s just got a lot of innate traits that an offensive lineman has. He came with them, he was coached very well in high school, he understands football, he understands technique, he’s got great technique and leverage- he understands leverage, puts himself in a good leverage position each and every play. You recruit a guy based on his athleticism, flexibility, movement, those type of things, but he had all the other things you try to teach him once you get him here, he was advanced when he got to us.”

Time will tell if Hemsley, Bell or senior Cade Cote, continuing to progress from his broken foot, will find their way back on the field at any point for ASU. But for now, it’s evident that the coaching staff feels strongly about the two true freshmen who have found their way into the starting lineup.

Ranked again in mid-September, the team wants to avoid another letdown, looking to exploit Colorado defense after their stunning loss to Air Force

If this season feels like a bit of Déjà Vu, that’s because it is. Beat a ranked Michigan State team in early/mid-September in a highly contested dogfight, sneak into one of the final three slots in the rankings as a result and feel a new sense of confidence and optimism about the season that wasn’t there before.

This time around, the Sun Devils will do everything they can to avoid the fourth step of that sequence; a disappointing loss to an unranked team. Last season, it was a 28-21 loss on the road against San Diego State. This year, they’ll host an angry Colorado team that just fell 30-23 in overtime to Air Force- also based in the state- only a week after they topped then No. 25 Nebraska at home in overtime.

“That really means nothing,” Daniels said of the ranking. “Colorado is going to be a good football team. Colorado just lost at home, so they’re going to try and come take our ranking back, and just going out there we just got to play our game.”

Darby wasn’t modest when discussing the upcoming matchup, however, noting the weaknesses that he feels like him and his teammates can attack.

“They’re antsy a lot, they’re going to bite on a lot of short routes,” Darby said. “I’m hoping coach Likens puts a lot of double-route moves in.

“They got this big corner, you know when a corner’s over six-foot he can’t bend down, so let’s attack him, let’s get him with comebacks and stuff because once he breaks it’s going to be hard for him to get up again…let’s just play-action them and pop it right there, so I’m just looking forward to that.”

Teammates happy for Kyle Williams after he led ASU in catches on Saturday

Senior receiver Kyle Williams led the team in receptions against Michigan State, hauling in six for 49 yards, several of which went for first downs or were close to it. Daniels has appreciated having him on the team, noting his specific skill set.

“I just throw it out there to Kyle and he can make a lot of plays,” Daniels said. “Just get him the ball, try to get him the ball in space, and let him just work.”

As for Darby, he had a a unique moniker for his teammate, whom he’s playing with for a third consecutive season.

“We always look at Kyle as that get-out-of-jail-free card,” Darby said. “He always runs the cell route, he always finds a little hole in the defense and he’s right there, and he has great ball skills…I just feel like he plays his hardest all the time, so anything he has to do to help the team win, that’s what he’s going to do.

“Coach Likens will put him in positions where he can be successful, and him at this A-spot, running little cell routes and everything, he’s doing a great job for us, great job. (He) opens up the defense, opens it up for us.”

Join us on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, to discuss this article and other ASU football and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today here and join your fellow Sun Devil fans!